Ange Gardien
by GriffinMan
Summary: Toni Stark, Genius, Billionaire, Philanthropist, and Richest woman in the world. One day in France, during a series of terror attacks she was forced to attend a trade between SI and a mining conglomerate. Toni's life was never the same afterwards. (!fem Toni, OC Insert, Begins in Pre-ironman,Rating subject to change)
1. The Beginning

January 1st 2007. on a private jet just outside Paris.

"Look Toni, I'm telling you we should just cancel the trip! Three attacks at the same city can't be a coincidence!" Pepper said, looking to the Billionaire with fear in her eyes.

"Ah we'll be fine pep. I even contracted out some protection for us, just to be sure. Even you have to know that we need to be there for this meeting." She replied, casually flipping her hair over her back.

"Toni please, this isn't safe! We can reschedule the meeting! Any time but now would be better!" Pepper shrieked, glancing between Toni and the window to the approaching ground.

"Look Pep. I've made my decision and it's final. I'm sorry, but this deal is just too important to give up. We need this palladium for my next prototype." she said, her voice carrying over with finality.

The plane lurched slightly, as it came to a rolling stop on the pavement of the private airport, It's wheels screeching loudly as it came to a stop. The billionaire and her entourage disembarked cautiously before Toni smiled widely at a French beauty approaching, moving gracefully towards her.

" _Jean! It has been too long! I apologize for my french, It's been a while."_ She chirped, switching nearly flawlessly to French, speaking with the precision and grammar of a native.

" _It's no problem, Mademoiselle_ _Toni"_ The brunette replied, her tone welcoming and kind. She gestured to the three Navy-blue trucks parked not far away, with a bright white "Panther sécurité privée" stamped on the side of each vehicle.

The group hastily moved over to the convoy of vehicles parked on the landing strip. The lead vehicle was the same as the rest, a French-issue 'Sherpa' Armored Personnel carrier. Designed to withstand fire and protect their occupants, these heavy-duty vehicles were waiting for the group.

"See Pepper? Like I told you, completely safe, but if you really don't want to, you can stay on the plane. I'll be fine, I promise." Toni sighed, looking tiredly into the ginger's eyes.

Pepper backed off slightly, opening her mouth and then closing it, knowing deep within that Toni doesn't take 'No' for an answer. She stepped backwards, shaking her head before she turned and began ascending the stairs.

" _Don't worry about her Jean. Anyway, the route you have planned, it's clear right? No ambushes from_ _wild fans?"_ Toni queried, a playful tone filling her voice.

" _The route we've chosen goes from this strip, down onto 140, and then it's just the highway to the Louvre. The recent...issues haven't affected the area on the route, so we should be fine. The trucks are just a precaution." '_ Jean _'_ replied, her fingers dancing over a wrist-mounted GPS.

" _Perfect. That's like, around an hour drive right? Plenty of time to work on the designs for this new best-seller."_ Toni mumbled, before bringing out her phone immediately as she climbed into the large truck.

The heavy doors shut and locked, the guards settling slightly into a relaxed stance and glancing out the windows for the signs of trouble. The heavy diesel engines started, the loud whirr blocking out most sound as they revved up. The heavy beasts lumbered their way off the field, taking down the short gravel round before turning onto the highway.

The signs of the recent attack were still clear, heavy cracks in the road and overturned cars were merely the obvious signs of the terror attacks. Smoke was still billowing from several cars, others were still running, a reminder of the panic citizens were in to escape the destruction.

The lead car turned slightly, avoiding a section of the Highway that had collapsed. The others followed suit, much like a conga line does. Their heavy tires barely making a sound as they crossed over the once-busy interchange. Time seemed to fly past Toni, her hands slipping around her phone constantly making adjustments and design changes to her prototype Jericho missile. The only issue she seemed to have was the propulsion system. The weight of the missiles held within it kept it unbalanced, and unable to fly properly with conventional propulsion systems.

Her thoughts were cut short quickly, as the sound of distant gunfire rang in her ears.

" _Hey! Brawns-For-Brains! What the hell's going on out there?"_ She yelled, the driver ahead of her remained motionless and limp. He sat there, and that's when she noticed it. The cracks in the windshield.

" _Oh shit, shit shit shit shit SHIT"_ She whispered, quickly undoing her seat-belt and moving to open the door. As she got it open, suddenly the butt of a rifle was thrust at her face, and her world spun into darkness.

Pain was the first thing to register in her mind. An overwhelming pain in her legs, actually. Looking down, Toni immediately knew that things were bad. Her legs were mangled. Completely and utterly destroyed. Flesh seemed to be hanging off them in multiple places, and she honestly didn't know if she could save her left leg. It was twisted at an unnatural angle, and she could see the bone sticking out at one part of her femur. She did her best to keep the vomit in and stay strong. She knew that help was probably on the way, but in the dark, damn room wherever she was, she knew that it would take some time.

It was pouring, the water seemed like an endless amount of tears from the sky. Water pounded against the window of the repurposed building. Outside, there were two large vans. One could tell they were some type of special forces. The armor on the tires alone had to be at least an inch thick. Within, a group of 15 were sitting, or standing around a round counter-top. A burly man with a cap on pointed to a run-down building off to the side of Route D10.

 _"Here. This is where we suspect them to have taken the VIP and her surviving guards." He said, his french flowing with a commanding tone. "You will enter silently, take out whoever you need to, and rescue the hostages. We know there are at least 20, including Stark."_

 _"Where are the insertion points, Major?" One man asked, glancing at the map._

 _"We have three teams of 5 moving into the target. Romeo team will use the Western side windows, Juliette will breach the roof, and Capulet will enter via the side entrance in the east. I will warn you Intel is scarce on this particular group so keep an eye on each-others backs." He replied._

The teams set to work getting their gear on. Armor, Masks, Gloves, Equipment. All of it was on quickly and efficiently. One trooper, off in the corner silently attached two batons to his hips. He flicked a small switch on the side of one, smiling in satisfaction when high amounts of electricity arced over it.

 _"We have the signal to setup. Get into positions, teams. Wait for my mark."_ echoed throughout their radios. The soldiers jumped into action, moving quickly towards the structure on the horizon.

It was the dead of night. Very little could be heard other than the crickets and the occasional talking from within the building. The soldiers stealthily crawled into position. Romeo team carefully scaled the structure, ensuring no noise was made on the wooden wall. Their hooks held strong on the roof, securing them in position.

 _"_ _Sweep each of your respective floors, team. I want the entrances and windows secure before you move those hostages, got it?"_ The Major replied, his voice quiet.

A series of affirmatives was heard throughout the radios before they resumed radio silence. It was but twenty seconds later when a single word was uttered. It was at this word that the operation truly began.

" _Execute_ " The Major said, glancing at the screens of Helmet-Cams on each of his operatives.

All three teams began their entry, and it was here that things took a turn for the worse.

" _Multiple Contacts! Shit, Cover!"_ Capulet leader said, swearing colorfully in French. His weapon discharged, taking down several hostiles who were waiting for them.

Meanwhile, Romeo team had been ambushed as they were jumping into the windows. Gunfire exploded all around the group as they leaped backwards to breach the windows. Two operators were killed immediately, with the remaining three taking cover wherever they could. Sergeant Mattheu, second-in-command with the squad was now in charge.

 _"Our priority remains the hostages. We will secure the top floor for them."_ He echoed throughout his squad's radios. Raising his weapon, he fired three rounds. Three enemies dropped like rocks, a neat hole right between the eyes.

The remains of his team moved from room to room, quickly clearing out the top floor. The final room of the floor was the Master Bedroom. Placing the Flash Charge, the team got ready for the final assault on this floor.

 _"Juliette Squad, Capulet Squad, we're finishing up our floor now."_ Mattheu reported. His statement was met with silence, which slightly worried him.

The charge went off, and a deafening 'BANG' was heard as it filled the target room with light. The three GIGN troops quickly cleared the room, taking down all six of the blinded terrorists. One of the terrorists had a vest, unfortunately. Sgt. Jean threw the other two operatives backwards, clearing them of the explosion radius as the vest went off. The room was thrown into chaos, shrapnel flying everywhere.

The two surviving members of Romeo team looked to each other, knowing that they could mourn her sacrifice after the mission. They began down the stairs, sending in another report.

 _"Command, this is Romeo. The top floor is clear, how fare Juliette and Capulet?"_ He asked. The radio was silent for several long moments until finally the Major's voice responded.

 _"I'm sorry. The_ _Intel_ _we had was very very far off. The enemy is much more prepared than was believed. Capulet and Juliette teams are down, and we know not if there are survivors. As of now, you are the final two operatives on the premises._ _We need to pull you out and try again later. I will not lose my entire section to a group of terrorists!"_ The major shouted into his earpiece, his voice laced with professional concern and anger.

It took several seconds for the two soldiers to reply, before they reached an unspoken agreement.

 _"We refuse, sir. If we don't get in there now, those hostages are dead. We're moving in."_ Mattheu replied, before shutting off his communicator.

The two began their descent down the stairs carefully. Listening in on the hostile movements. Heavy boots thudded across the wooden floors, being incredibly obvious. The two brought out their silenced sidearms, aiming them at eye-level to the door on the other side of the room. Immediately as the two patrolmen crossed the door frame, the two weapons went off. Their sound incredibly muffled, one could barely even hear the death of the men aside from their bodies hitting the floor.

" _Cover this stairwell. I'm heading into the basement."_ Mattheu ordered, before quickly descending the stairs once more. His rifle was at the ready, no longer requiring his silenced sidearm.

Suddenly an arm was around his neck, a commanding voice yelling in German.

 _"Drop the weapon! Drop it or DIE!"_ He yelled, tightening his grip on the operative.

Mattheu struggled to come up with an answer, before deciding to use his combat knife. Quickly thrusting one of his arms away from the man, he felt the old sensation of electricity arcing up his blade, before he sliced backwards. His captor twitched as his throat was slit, his body spasming with electricity.

He quickly recovered, grabbing his weapons and proceeding further into the basement. He sighted the first group on hostages, slicing their bindings with his blade and pointing them towards the stairs. He'd freed four groups of four hostages, before realizing he'd forgotten there were more.

The operative turned to the sound of a pained yell. It was obviously feminine, and in severe distress. He jumped up, weapon at the ready and proceeding towards the origin. He ended up at a large steel door of what looked like a world war two era bomb shelter. Cracking the door open, the sight inside horrified him. He steeled his nerves, before kicking the door open.

Acting on instinct at the loud noise, the bound Toni dove to the floor just as shots rang out. They continued for but a moment, before the lifeless body of the man fell to the floor, riddled with bullets. She looked up at the Frenchman, as he closed in on her.

 _"You're safe now, Ma'am. I'll get you out of here."_ He whispered to her in french. Toni merely nodded, looking to him. He cut her bindings, her arms now free.

A gunshot rang out, and Mattheu flinched. He definitely felt the bullet rip into his chest. He wasn't screaming only due to the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He lifted his gun anyway, planting two shots into the man who had been exiting the bathroom.

Mattheu stumbled slightly before regaining his composure. He grabbed Toni, lifting her up onto his back before proceeding out of the building.

As he began to climb the stairwell he heard more shouting, very much unfriendly behind him. He felt another bullet tear into his leg and back before he finally reached the top of the stairs. Acting with Adrenalin pumping throughout his body, he slammed his fist into the metallic rim of the stairs, and electricity arced throughout them. A horrid smell of burnt flesh rose from the basement as everyone below them was fried to a crisp from the overloading wires and metal.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." Toni was whispering, her face buried in the bloodied shoulder of her savior.

Mattheu smiled lightly as he rose a trembling hand to his earpiece.

" _Hostages secure. Location..."_ He trailed off. The blood loss finally got to him, and he collapsed onto the wall. His last surviving teammate frantically began to call headquarters before Toni ripped his earpiece away.

" _GET IN HERE! Please! Your Man is dying and he saved my life! The building is clear now HURRY UP"_ She begged into the radio.

It was very quick. The medical teams had arrived alongside some extra security. All the hostages had checked out except for Toni. Her left leg would have to be amputated. The damage done to it when the transport had exploded was simply too much.

She glanced at her savior. His body covered in bandages as it was loaded into an emergency field hospital. She had no way of knowing if he's survive or not. It was all up to fate now, and the skill of the doctors.


	2. The Offer

_**AN: Sorry for not giving the last chapter one of these. It's been a heck of a week for me. A massive blizzard hit my state, power went out for around a day, and we were trapped in our development for quite some time. It's cleared up now, and Here I am. My thanks go out to Finnish Toast, Naomi Pictogreen, and DarkDust27 for Favoriting and/or Reviewing my story. My sincere thanks go to you, and the same to any who decide to Favorite of review my story. Please review and provide any insight or advice you want.**_

Later.

At an Unknown Location

Pain. That was the first thing he felt. Then came the numbness in the rest of his body. The all-encompassing pain overwhelmed most other senses the man had. It flowed through his veins like lava, burning away in his legs. It was though they had been skinned, stripped to the bone, and then salted and roasted.

His eyes barely functioned. The only thing he could see was white. It was everywhere, as though he were trapped inside of a star. The sheer level of light was nearly blinding, yet it seemed to slowly be fading away. He slowly became able to distinguish vague shapes, mere outlines of their true forms.

He was able to recognize the familiar sight of an IV pole, which seemed to be hooked into his body. Next came the outlines of several people, all standing in the back corner of the room, talking. Recognizing that he was in an unfamiliar location with strangers that had left him in pain, he acted. He flailed his legs forward, restraining a yell of pain as he swung himself off the bed. The strangers reacted immediately, grabbing a needle full of blue liquid and rushing towards him with it.

His training proved to be too much for them, even in the state his body was in. He launched a kick at one enemies knee knocking him to the ground, and then delivered an elbow sweep into the others chest. Both were winded which allowed him to swing out his right arm, smashing one of the assailants in the head. He collapsed like a bag of bricks onto the other one, knocking them both out cold on the hard metal floor.

Mattheu tried to leap off this accursed bed. His legs failed to respond to him he realized as his attempts were futile. Ripping off the bloodied sheet laid upon his bed he stopped immediately.

There, lay two clear cuts. Right from his knees down, his legs were gone. It took him several seconds to realize just what they had done. They'd taken his life from him. Never again would he serve France in the GIGN. Never again would he walk like a normal human being. He was forever a cripple it seemed.

He'd frozen completely. He stared at the stubs that once led to his legs. He knew this had to be a dream, that there was no way he'd been this incredibly injured in the short firefights in that run-down building. Then it came to him, those final three shots. Those were the issue here. He hadn't even realized he'd stopped breathing before he was forced to take a very deep breath into his lungs. The air was cool, refreshing almost. He leaned backwards, struggling to keep the tears out of his eyes as the full weight of the situation managed to bear its ugly head down upon him.

He heard the shuffling of feet, before several more nurses entered the room. They glanced in confusion at their 'Unruly' Patient, and the tired doctors on the floor.

"Sorry… about that, you know" He mumbled in English. His voice was tired as it rang out in the room.

The lead nurse seemed to pay no attention to his apology other than her pitying expression she wore as she approached him with the syringe.

Mattheu offered no resistance to her as she injected him with the drugs. They took a few moments to take effect, but it was still quite quick. He was out like a light before he even knew it.

His last memory before his slumber was the horrible image of his Stump leg, and all the horrors it entailed.

He awoke again. His eyes slowly fluttered open as they adjusted to the level of light in the room. Mattheu lifted his head slightly, before a familiar hand pushed him back to the bed.

"Well good morning there Mr. Badass." Her voice whispered, her hand ruffling his hair fondly.

"Ms. Stark?" Mattheu asked, confusion laced throughout his voice. He looked to her, the unspoken question traveling between them.

"You're in my tower, Sarge. As you saw… earlier, there were some complications." She said, looking away sadly.

"You mean my leg, Ms. Stark." He stated more than asked. Toni merely nodded, before looking into his eyes.

"We both lost a part of ourselves in there, Mr. Vasseur." She told him.

Mattheu took a moment to actually look at her. His look of curiosity quickly turned to concern at the sight of her. Her hair was a mess, she looked like she hadn't slept at all, and she was missing her left leg.

"I'm sorry I didn't do good enough, Ms. Stark. I cannot forgive myself for failing to protect you." He said, his voice filled with regret. Toni was having none of it with her response however.

"No! This has nothing to do with you. My leg happened during the ambush. I knew it was doomed from the start." She told him, glancing down at the stub. It was cut at nearly the same place as his, just below the knee.

They looked at each other for a moment before Toni suddenly snapped her fingers. Immediately two nurses entered the room, a Wheelchair trailing behind them.

"We're heading somewhere more private to talk, alright?" She asked, glancing to him for approval.

Mattheu nodded, looking towards the wheelchair with trepidation. He lifted himself up into a sitting position, before lowering himself towards the chair.

Toni smiled at him, before chuckling. "Just as annoyed about this as I was, I see. They had to do a lot of surgery on you, you know. There was a lot of damage left over." Toni told him, before nodding towards the two nurses. They left them in the corridor outside the infirmary, heading back inside. "Follow me. We're heading to the elevator so we can talk in peace." Toni continued, wheeling herself towards the spacious elevator.

Mattheu took a few seconds to get used to the wheelchair, before quickly following suit. He rolled himself into the elevator with Toni, glancing at her before she spoke suddenly.

"My personal floor, JARVIS." She spoke, her head tilted slightly upwards.

Mattheu searched the room with his eyes, but he saw no intercom of any type. He wondered who she was speaking to until a distinctly British accented voice spoke up.

"Of Course, Ms. Stark. Sending you to your private floor now." It said, Its voice reverberating throughout the room. Mattheu tensed up in his rolling chair, but relaxed at the sound of Toni's calming voice.

"It's JARVIS. He's an AI I made in college, sort of like a butler for everything I do anywhere." She informed him, smiling as he relaxed. "We're heading somewhere so I can show you… something I've been working on ever since I woke up." She smiled, looking at him brightly.

"And what might this be, Ms. Stark?" Mattheu asked, subtly scanning the elevator for any type of bugs.

"The first prototype of something… amazing." She replied cryptically.

The elevator came to a stop beeping. The dual doors opened quickly, Toni following swiftly behind. She rolled as if she were confined to this chair for her entire life. She had the skill and precision of an expert. The room they entered was large and open, the walls coated with a white gloss. The floor was a very beautiful tile set, rolling over the floor in a colored Mosaic.

The workshop was filled with various mechanical instruments, as well as a StarkTech 'Holo-Manipulator' in the center. Toni snapped her fingers, immediately pulling her hands through the air, manipulating the Holograms as they appeared. Several designs flew by, many weapons, some armors, and a type of rocket. Finally, she stopped her hands, as a cylindrical shape appeared. Toni smiled brightly as she looked at it, glancing back at Mattheu.

"It'll take about a week to manufacture… but we can give you your legs back, Matt." She told him, smiling lightly.

Mattheu just stared. He looked between her and the Hologram in the center of the room, his eyes widened and surprised.

"You… you did all this, in one day?" He asked her, his voice unable to hide his amazement.

Toni looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion first, then a sad understanding next. She glanced at him guiltily before beginning.

"Matt, It's been more than one day, you know. You've been out of it for a week longer than I was. It's been an entire month since France." She informed him, looking away shamefully.

"I wish the doctors had told you when you woke, but you were a bit out of it." She continued, as she fiddled with a few pieces on the hologram.

Mattheu nodded, his mind processing the new information he'd received. He looked to her suddenly, his expression unreadable.

"So why Ms. Stark, would you do this for me?" He asked, his voice betraying him with emotion.

Toni hesitated for only a second before she answered.

"Because I realized what you did. Your buddy, the only other guy you had left with you. He told me what you risked. Being the only two people left, and still committing to the mission? I'd call that stupid if it wasn't what saved my life. I owe you." She confessed, her eyes staring straight into his and hiding nothing.

Mattheu nodded his head understandingly before speaking.

"I want you to know, Ms. Stark, that-" He started, before Toni cut him off.

"If we're gonna be friends, I gotta lay some rules. First, stop calling me 'Miss', it makes me sound old. Second, Don't give me that 'It's My Job' bull because it wasn't. Getting those hostages out, and I was expendable if need be." She told him.

Mattheu just gave her a look of understanding, before speaking again.

"Alright then, Toni. I do want to be your friend, if possible. And now that my old group will no longer take me, would you mind finding me somewhere available? This is all I want from you, if possible." He asked her, hope filling his voice.

Toni just smiled, before gesturing to the set of bio-mechanical legs in the hologram.

"These babies will be done in around a week. Completely experimental, so I have no idea if they'll give you extreme nerve damage. You get to test them out. Workout with them, you know?" She told him, gesturing to the set of prosthetics she'd created.

"I… wow. Thank you, Toni. I'd be happy to try them out. I've only been in this chair for a few minutes but I already hate it." Matt replied, smiling at the genius.

The two continued to talk about the specifics of the legs. Size, Strength, Thickness, Design. All of the above were involved in their talks. Hours seemed to pass by like seconds. Mattheu, in the depths of his mind, was grateful towards Toni. He appreciated her bluntness about the length of time it'd take to finish them. He was happy, at her willingness to conform to his design peculiarities. He watched her change the set of legs, shaping them into a slightly more human shape. She exploded the image over and over again, plucking away at it until it was a bare skeleton, and then quickly shaping it back together in a different shape.

It was twelve hours later, at 8 PM that the door to the workshop opened. A redhead briskly entered, her eyes already locked onto both Toni.

"Antoinette Emily Stark!" She growled, "Why in gods name are you siting in here, working on who knows what? You KNOW you have a Board meeting in half an hour! Halfway across the state, no less!" She all but shouted.

"Pep! Oh, I'm so sorry. I was talking to Mattheu here, the guy from France? We were designing his new walkers. Oh boy, I'm so dead. Please, Don't kill me Pep." She rambled, looking nervously between Pepper and Mattheu.

Pepper got straight up in Toni's Face, staring into her eyes.

"Get your suit on, Toni. And then get straight to the limo. I'll meet you there, because I need to talk to your friend." She ordered. Toni gave no objection as she very nearly sprint out of the room. She disappeared into the elevator, as Pepper rounded around towards Mattheu.

Mattheu was about to speak when he felt arms wrap around him. The woman was hugging him! He awkwardly wrapped his arms around Pepper in return for a moment, before they released each other.

"Thank you, Mr Vasseur. You saved her life at the cost of your body, and you have no idea what that means to me. I love that woman like a sister, and we're so alike in many ways that I think we more or less are. Losing her would have killed me, I'm sure." She nearly cried. Mattheu could see the tears brimming in her eyes as she thought back to losing Toni.

"It… It was my job, Ma'am. I did whatever it took to get her out of there." He confessed.

"Either way, Mr. Vasseur. You've done me such a great service. As I'm sure Toni told you, We'd like to offer you a position here at Stark International. Given your… former occupation, I was thinking of recommending you as an addition to Toni's Security detail? If, you don't mind of course."

Mattheu looked her in the eyes, contemplating her question for but a moment before he answered.

"As soon as these new Legs come in? I'm in, Ms. Potts." He answered. With that out of the way, she presented him with two documents, and a pen.

Signing his name on one, and his initials on another, he was not officially Lead Bodyguard for Toni Stark. His life had just gotten a whole lot more interesting.


End file.
